Unyielding Darkness
by Projekt-Z
Summary: Takes Place after KHDDD: With the naming of a new Master, and training of two Keyblade wielders, Darkness is yet upon the worlds once again; However this time there is a twist. The Purest Lights are are threatened by a new force no one had expected. Will the Guardians of Light and their new allies be enough to change destiny, or will Xehanort choreograph the future? OCs within.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 – Birth by Sleep

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_**A/N: There will be a few Pairings in this story... OCxAqua, OCxRiku, SoraxKairi, and possibly more. Also, I only Own the Characters Zell and Leo. Kanani belongs to Pikachu203**_

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In the Mysterious Tower, the great wizard Yen Sid sat at his desk with his hands interlocking across his face and his eyes were closed in deep thought. The slender elderly man donned his usual blue cloak and hat. His long grey beard was draped over his person as he sat behind the large oak desk that held many wonders, some that were obvious, and others that were not.

"Hmm… Something is happening to the worlds… I can feel their very essence fading… I must alert my old apprentice, and yet again, I cannot shake the feeling that something terrible is about to transpire…" The former Keyblade Master gave a sigh and stood to his full height and stepped to his window and watched a star fade in the night's sky. He closed his eyes in a brief display of mourning, and then he flicked his wrist and a stream of light shot from the window and into the night sky.

The Sorcerer waved his hand slowly and turned around with a hand held out and a book appeared in his hand in a cloud of purple smoke. He hummed a bit as he scanned the book. After reaching a certain page, he closed his eyes and massaged the bridge of his nose with his index finger and thumb. Yen Sid sat at his desk with the book fixed to a certain page, the page's contents was about the creation of a χ-blade.

_**The Keyblade Graveyard – Around the Same Time**_

It was night, and stars littered the sky like tiny crystals hanging in the sky. Three figures stood several feet from one another. Two of the figures were glaring at one another, and the third stood a bit farther away, observing as a referee. The two figures that were glaring at one another shared similar facial features such as eye structure, physical build and skin tone. There were some obvious differences as well; hair color and eye color were the main factors. Both figures were male, and one boy had red hair and eyes, the other had blue hair and grey clouded eyes. Both males were a light brown skin tone, the red-haired boy was dressed in a grey button up shirt with a red t-shirt underneath, burgundy finger-less gloves that held an emblem in the center, black cargo pants and red and black shoes. The only item that stood out on the red-haired boy was the strange gauntlet like bracelet that was on his right hand that had a large button like shape in its center.

The other boy was dressed in a type of armor. The armor had spiked shoulders, knees, and elbows; there was a silver chain mail that clung to his physique, revealing a crafted abdomen, and just above the boy's chest and on his waist were metal buckles. He wore loose long shorts over the chain mail on his legs and an open vest over his upper body.

The female that was serving as the observer was an older female. She had a fine streak of silver in her otherwise ebony bob cut hair, a few wrinkles on her light brown skin, and a nice figure that belied her true age. The woman wore a long teal skirt that flowed easily to her ankles, a pale blue tank top that covered a wrap that extended from one shoulder to her waist, and there was a pearl colored shirtdress over her shoulders that was opened down to her waist, around her waist was a sash that held a strange emblem, which was located where the knot was tied into the sash.

The older woman spoke gently and firmly at the same time, "Zell, are you certain that you're ready to face your darkness?"

The red-haired boy, Zell, nodded, "Yes, grandma… I mean, Yes Master Elissa."

The woman, Elissa, suppressed a sigh and stated, "…Very well then... You may begin."

The azure haired boy summoned a weapon shaped like a key, the Light Becoming Dark. The weapon possessed a curved, notched blade with a noticeably sharp edge, the handle is a straight shade of navy blue, thorns made up the teeth of the key, and the weapon was a shade of dark sapphire and white alternating.

Zell summoned his weapon, Wolf's Hunt, which held a similar shape, but different appearance. Zell's weapon had the tip and token as wolf heads, and is crimson from the shaft to the tip. The guard is onyx black with a crimson revolver chamber between the guard and shaft. The teeth of the Keyblade is as a single, sharp point with concave sides.

Zell held a neutral expression and eyed the blue haired boy warily. The blue haired boy was the embodiment of Darkness that was within Zell, identical to the relationship between Vanitas and Ventus, whose story drove the inspiration for this theory.

Elissa, Zell's Master and Grandmother, was worried about how this would turn out to be a mistake, but at the same time she was certain that her grandson would succeed and show the Mark. The Mark of Mastery, or simply the Mark, is what Key bearers need to become "Keyblade Masters", and only the ones who have shown the Mark, as deemed by their Masters, will inherit the title of Keyblade Master. Zell had yet to show any signs of the mark, but had a dark influence that he'd wished to quell. There had been rumors of a weapon the appeared to those who'd faced a darkness as strong as their light and vice versa, the weapon was known as the χ-blade. These rumors were found in Xehanort's reports that had been missing for about thirteen years and the reports had suddenly appeared again in The Terrain of Exodus, where Zell resides and does his training. Feeling that he was becoming too old to prove the mark, Zell decided to confront his darkness to prove he'd had the Mark. His grandmother, Elissa had been uneasy about the situation given the sudden appearance of the Xehanort Reports, but she believed her grandson could prove he had the mark by doing this task.

The two beings charged at each other and immediately began to trade attacks. The swings of one were met with parries and dodges by the other. Zell would strike and be rewarded with the sound of metal clashing against metal, or metal simply tearing the air. The azure counterpart would usually be met with the same rewards, until a charged fireball blasted him back several feet and left a charred mark on his person. The Azure counterpart grunted with fury and leapt into the air before diving into the ground, similar to the way the Shadow Heartless behave. The Azure counterpart reappeared behind Zell and shot out of the ground like a cannon and brought his weapon down hard, only to be met with the sound of crunching ground.

Zell rolled sideways to avoid being halved, and countered with another fire spell, this one was larger and consisted of two fire shots, Fira. Both shots blasted the counterpart and singed his armor more. Zell followed up the magic attack with two slashes of his Keyblade, both going diagonally, and finished the combo with a small leaping vertical strike, which sent the Azure counterpart back a little more. The Azure counterpart skidded back, but quickly regained his wits and charged at Zell with his keyblade glowing a crystalline color. He swung the keyblade and released several waves of blue energy. The waves burst across Zell's chest and the fifth and final wave exploded and sent Zell spiraling backward and airborne.

The Azure counterpart gave a grunt, and then shot off the ground after his original, a blue flame being emitted from his feet as he made his approach. Zell cast Barrier just as the Azure gave a powerful stream of blue fire, the flame's path split in two as it blazed past the barrier and off into the distance. Zell flew higher into the air with this as a result. The Azure counterpart released another burst fire and rocketed ahead of Zell and flipped forward and attempted a vertical slash at the approaching Keyblade wielder. Zell assumed a blocking gesture in the air, and succeeded in his block, but was sent to the ground at an alarming rate, and landed on his feet, breaking the ground beneath him as he landed, and assumed another defensive position, holding his weapon over his head, and avoided being sliced in half yet again.

The Azure counterpart hovered above Zell and their two Keyblades locked in heat, clashing metal against metal. The friction between the two weapons was so intense that sparks flew from the weapons as they locked against each other. Each boy cast s level 3 fire spell, Firaga, and the two spells exploded at the close vicinity, effectively sending both boys in opposite directions. Elissa watched carefully and a small tinge of nervousness was on her face.

Both boys stood at the same time, each weakened severely from the blast, but still able to fight. Zell held his Keyblade in a downward position, and Azure readied his blade up near his head. Both boys charged at each other and both slashed at the same time. Azure fell to his knees and dropped his Keyblade. Azure's Keyblade disintegrated and its light merged into Zell, restoring some of his strength. Zell stood and stepped to the kneeling boy and smirked.

"You're weak now… that means you have to come back into me."

Azure grunted, allowed a strained breath to escape him and he struggled to stand. "…Fine… You win… but… now that… we're complete… what will… happen… now?"

Zell said nothing for a moment as the darkness reemerged with his heart and a tremendous light burst from his body, taking the shape of a nuclear explosion.

_**The Mysterious Tower – Several Moments After**_

Mickey Mouse walked into the study of Yen Sid and had turned to face the one who was his former apprentice. Mickey noticed the uneasiness in the air, and proceeded to get his master's attention.

"Ya called for me sir?" Mickey asked a bit reluctantly.

Yen Sid nodded and folded his arms, "Yes I did, and the worlds are in more dire circumstances now than they have been in the past. The thirteen princesses are in grave danger. I fear that their worlds are being taken over by a force unknown… We need to gather the Keys and protect the Princesses before things become out of our control… But we might need Xehanort's insight on this as well…"

Mickey's eyes widened at the statement, "Wha… Whattaya mean by that?"

There was a silence from Yen Sid, but Mickey followed his Master's gaze to the book and walked toward it.

"You mean we'll need to have a… a χ-blade!? …So this… this threat is that strong, huh. But where will we find someone who has one?" Mickey slowly brought his head up and met Yen Sid's gaze.

Yen Sid gave a hefty, "Hmm…" Then there was a bright flash of light.

Mickey gasped and Yen Sid sighed, "That's where we'll get the χ-blade from. I'll need you to bring him to me."

Mickey nodded. "I'll get right to it! So, where's that Star Shard?" Mickey looked around the room and found a blue star shaped crystal with a leaf protruding from its center. The item in question was perched on a shelf. The King made his way to the item and held it skyward.

Yen Sid nodded and said, "I wish you luck, my Apprentice."

_**The Realm of Return – Thirty Minutes Later**_

The Realm of Return was very identical to the Land of Departure, in fact, it was influenced by Eraqus just before he became a master in his own right. However, unlike the Land of Departure, there was an Island not too far away. Zell and his grandmother sat on the shore of the island.

Zell was in his cargo pants and a long sleeved t-shirt, while Elissa was in a long flowing nightgown and leggings underneath it. Zell summoned his new weapon, his χ-blade and observed it closely.

Zell's χ-blade was made up of two crossing Kingdom Key D's, the teeth of the two Keyblades facing outward, its filigree was similar to the one that has been seen on the Ultima Weapon Keyblade, and the blade was curved slightly like a Japanese sword. The colors of the filigree and the blade were red-to orange, like a setting sun.

Elissa glanced over at the weapon and smirked. Her grandson had now been dubbed a Keyblade Master. She stood and stretched, just then, there was a streak across their sky and a light faded into their line of sight just a little ways from her location. The light took the shape of a large mouse and began to take actual form, and then Mickey appeared.

Elissa took notice of the King first and gave a deep bow from her waist. Zell stood and kneeled.

"Your Majesty… Is there a problem?" Elissa asked as she rose back to her feet.

Zell stood and his χ-blade faded with a dark light and disappeared.

Mickey nodded slowly, "Well, you see… There's something happening, and it's not too good. The dark power that is recurring now… we'll need him." Mickey pointed to Zell then offered his hand.

Elissa looked to her grandson and nodded. He nodded in return and stepped toward the King.

The two, Zell and the King, faded into a bright light then they shot off into the sky, bouncing and rebounding off of thin air until they escaped her sight. She let out a sigh and mouthed the words, "Be Careful."

_**Destiny Islands – Simultaneously**_

There were four figures staring into the vast sea that stretched beyond the horizon and possibly even further. Three of the four were, Sora, The Keyblade's Chosen; Riku, the Walker of the Road to Twilight; and Kairi, the Seventh Princess of Heart and their fourth friend, Kanani, the Miniature Ice Queen. Kanani has light-caramel colored hair and lavender colored eyes. She keeps her hair in two long braids that reach her waist. She's very short, but is easily the fastest out of the four and has a very light caramel tan.

Sora, the Keyblade's Chosen has spiky almond colored hair, he wears a silver and black overjacket with crimson and white trimming, a black vest with an "X" on the front, baggy black pants using many zippers and extra leggings with his signature crown necklace and crown chain and he has Black shoes with zippers going down the middle.

Riku, The Walker of the Twilight Road, was dressed in a Cream, yellow and black zipped vest, his silver hair draped over his eyes, two black wrist bands, one over a white wrist guard, and he wore baggy jeans that sagged slightly, and white boots with black laces.

Kairi, the Seventh Princess of Heart, has auburn hair, crystal blue eyes, a pale complexion, and a necklace with a silver bead, a pink strapless mini-dress made up of three zippers as well as a white halter top underneath her mini-dress with a black hood. She also sports three bracelets on her left wrist, a black belt reminiscent of suspenders.

Kanani's outfit is a formal jacket with a scarf around her neck, and a frilled shirt beneath it, and she wore high heels and a pair of pants with grey on the inside and black on the outside. Her weapons were a pair of long crystalline blue swords, which she dubbed as 'Glacial Swords'. She and Kairi both lived in Radiant Garden as kids, and Kanani appeared in Destiny Islands a few months after Kairi did. Kanani has a crush on Riku and besides Kairi; he is the only one that gets her to talk.

The four friends were on the tree that curved very closely to a tall pillar of land and they sat there. Riku stood and leaned on the tree, with Kairi on one side and Kanani on the other. Kairi sat on the side with Sora on the tree, and Kanani sat on Riku's other side.

The four friends stared at the sparkling sky and watched a streak bounce and sail through the sky. Kairi and Sora lit up and looked at each other with audible gasps. Sora spoke first, "… Go on and Make a wish."

Riku repeated that same line to Kanani. Both girls closed their eyes and made a wish. Kairi scrunched her face and chanted something in her mind. Kanani adopted a praying position with her hands clasped within each other. After several seconds, both girls returned to watching the stars quietly, and Kanani moved herself so that her legs were around Riku's shoulders and he smirked. Kanani leaned gently on Riku's head. Kairi eased her hand into Sora's and looked to the sky with no words spoken from anyone.

_**Castle of Dreams – Immediately After**_

The blue haired female Master and last pupil of the late Eraqus, Aqua glanced up and the strange behavior of the shooting star that ricocheted overhead in the night sky, "Hmm? That's a strange thing to see. I wonder if other places have been affected like this… I still need to wake Ven and find Terra…" Aqua turned in the opposite direction from the shooting star and made her was to the Castle of Dreams, which was slowly being turned from its pearly white with blue cones on top, to navy blue cones and black. The tips of the Castle were tainted so far, but it was slowly but visibly being turned.

The Young Master of Water dashed as fast as she could to see if there was anything going more wrong than it was her first mission as Master. During her quest to track down Xehanort and watch Terra, she'd lost him to the darkness, and lost the other friend's heart to a χ-blade. She'd promised to prove to her late master, Eraquis, that Terra had what it took to be a Master, and she'd promised her little brother, Ventus, that she'd be there when he'd woke up, if it ever happened.

"_I promise that when I bring Terra back, you'll see that he has what it takes to be a master."_ Those were her final words to Master Eraquis before she'd undergone her first mission as Master. She believed in Terra, and he came around eventually. But it seemed that it was too late for him to return to the way things were.

She fought the urge to cry, but despite her efforts, the blue haired master felt tears stream down her cheeks as she approached the place where she first spotted Terra after he'd left. Aqua was strong, but even the strong have times when they break down, but now wasn't her time. She'd needed to figure out the problem and solve it first.

When she entered the castle, there were hordes of dark creatures preying on Prince Charming. She'd remembered that she helped him before. The Grand Duke was already turning into one of the creatures as he watched the prince be devoured by darkness. Aqua gasped and jumped back, easily evading a large grey claw that tore through the air and toward her.

Aqua gave a grunt and assumed her battle stance and summoned her late master's Keyblade, The Master Keeper. She summoned the weapon in a pink burst of light followed pink sakura petals.

The Master Keeper was a keyblade with a smooth, cylindrical, grey shaft that tapers outward at both ends. It has a boxy guard, made up of two small, light grey boxes and copper rod. The base of the guard connects to the grip, and both sport several small indentations lining them. The grip itself is square and the teeth are in the shape of an "E".

Three creatures flanked her. The creatures sported muscular black bodies with navy blue veins that appeared at random intervals on each of them, and even had burgundy markings across their chests shaped like hearts with a crack down the middle and in four pieces. Their heads were perfect circles and their eyes were orange and they had dark grey claws for hands and lager claws of the same color for feet. The creatures had three antennae on their heads that zigzagged like lightning bolts. The creatures stood in a hunched position, similar to that of a beast hunting for prey.

The creature that stood directly in front of the young master lunged for her and the two on either side did the same. Aqua cast barrier on herself and a spherical shield materialized between her and the new attackers. She pushed her Keyblade skyward and fragments of the barrier dispersed and flew through the creatures, causing pools of darkness to seep into the ground, like a thick liquid and more creatures emerged from the new pools.

Aqua glanced at the spectacle that took place before her, "So if you bleed, you multiply?"

There were now nine of the creatures surrounding her. They all jumped back and rocketed forward toward the female. They flew towards her in a line. Aqua twisted to the left and brought her Keyblade into the first monster, slicing it horizontally and it exploded. The next one came at her and held her Keyblade in a guarding position and the monster's momentum split him in two. The next three streamed after one another and Aqua did an aerial backwards flip with her weapon out, slicing them into halves as well. Aqua landed and cast a stage 4 fire spell, Firaja, which sent a large orb of flames spiraling toward the next target. The fire ball exploded on impact and split into smaller fire balls that rained down on two more creatures, burning them from existence. The ninth creature stood and watched the blue haired female and she stared at him as well.

Aqua scowled and ran toward the creature. She brought her weapon down hard, only to hit air and concrete. When she looked up, the creature was coming down like a meteor and landed clean on her back. Aqua was floored and the creature proceeded to pull on her head, the monster's strength was to be expected from its large muscular build, but that anticipates strength was nothing compared to the force that was threatening to rip her head off. Before anymore damage could be done. The young female master plunged the keyblade as far as she could into the creature, and hit it through the chest area and it dispersed. The pain and light-headed feeling that she felt was increasing in magnitude, however she managed to focus just enough to cast Cure on herself. She glanced around groggily and noticed that Prince Charming and the Grand Duke had disappeared. She took one step and fell to the floor, the Master Keeper clattering right next to her.

_**Destiny Islands – The Following Morning**_

The group of four walked over to the pier and Kanani sat down. Kairi followed her and sat beside her. The two girls began to chat about going to school the next day, seeing it was Sunday. Riku looked on with Sora in the background. A few moments passed and the girls, mainly Kairi, jumped up and screamed with a bottle in her hand.

Sora's eyes widened at the sight of the logo on the letter in the bottle, "Looks like we're going on another adventure, eh Riku?"

Riku nodded and smirked, "It seems that way."

Kanani opened the bottle and gave the letter to Riku, who took a second to read over it and then Sora retrieved the letter from Riku's outstretched hand.

Sora let out a gasp, Riku folded his arms and closed his eyes and his smirk was still present. Kairi had a large grin on her face and Kanani placed her hands on her hips and shook her head.

Riku and Sora both looked at Kairi, "Looks like we'll see if the training we gave you will pay off now."

Kairi nodded and winked and then the Gummi Ship emerged from the beneath the waters of Destiny Islands. The four friends jumped into the open cockpit and zoomed away toward The Mysterious Tower.

_**The Mysterious Tower – Immediately Afterwards**_

The four friends pulled toward a small mass of land that housed one lone tall tower. The mass of land was well kempt, with lush greenery and very well shaped bushes on the outer layer of the land. The Island itself was surrounded by space, and a sky that was purple on one side and orange on the other, was beneath it. The Gummi Ship pulled next to the island and the cockpit hissed open. Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Kanani jumped out and landed on the grass with a soft thud from their feet and the small noise of crumpling grass.

Sora and Riku led the two girls to the doors of Yen Sid's tower. Kairi looked upon the tower and gazed at it with a smile. Kanani raised a brow, but said nothing. Sora and Riku both looked back to Kairi, noticing that she was smiling.

Spotting the confusion on Kanani's face, Riku stated, "I brought her here to train under Master Yen Sid alongside Lea not too long ago."

"Oh… I guess this Master Yen Sid guy must be pretty amazing." Kanani replied with a look of thoughtfulness on her face.

Sora and Kairi headed into the tower first, Kanani took a few steps and stood beside Riku, taking more of his height into consideration; him being a half a head taller than Sora made his about one and three quarter heads taller than her.

Riku looked at the caramel female and smiled, "You aren't nervous about this are you?"

Kanani looked into Riku's sky blue eyes and couldn't help but feel a blush coming as she spoke, "Um… a little bit… I've never seen a Master before…"

Riku folded his arms and smirked, "Actually you have." Kanani looked confused again, so Riku continued, "I've been dubbed a Keyblade Master, remember?"

"Oh, right. That was when you and Sora left for that long while… I was practicing with Kairi at the time… it was to keep my mind off of…" Kanani spoke softly and took a step back, and put her hand to her chest. Riku unintentionally followed her hand and scanned her figure for a moment, and took notice that hers was larger and a bit more shapely than Kairi's was.

Riku blinked hard several times and mentally kicked himself for letting his eyes wander in that manner. Before the situation could get any more tense, Sora burst through the doors of the tower, "Hey you two! C'mon! We've got something to do remember?"

Riku and Kanani both jumped slightly and looked at each other nervously. Riku gave a nervous smile, "Yeah, We're coming." He'd started a motion that looked like he was going to hold out his hand, but caught the gesture and turned it into one that simply said 'come on'.

Kanani and Sora both missed it, but Kanani followed Riku and Soar held the doors open for his friends and they all made their way to Yen Sid's Study.

_**Yen Sid's Study – The Same Time**_

"Now, I feel Aqua's light… it's faint, but not fading nor getting any brighter… She's at the Castle of Dreams… This world is the first and most badly infected of the Worlds… You must make haste. Your Mission right now is…"

Zell took over the statement; he knew what he needed to do, "To assist a fellow Master in ensuring the safety of one of the Princesses… Right, sir?"

Yen Sid said nothing more; he simply nodded with his fingers interlocked over his mouth. Zell nodded back and turned to exit the study and opened the door to Kanani, Sora, Kairi, and Riku. The latter stepped aside and Zell walked calmly down the stairs, and the new group occupied the study.

"Whoa! Who was that?" Sora asked, his voice carried its usual enthusiasm and naïveté.

"He is one of your future allies… and hopefully our new trump card…" Yen Sid replied calmly as he usually did, but his tone changed as he added the second statement, which surprised Riku and Sora.

"What do you mean by 'trump card'?" all of the youths asked, Kairi and Sora had confusion while Riku and Kanani were a bit more calm; although the confusion and concern were present in their voices as well.

Yen Sid took a deep breath and released it as a long light breath via his nostrils, "You will need more than just a Keyblade for this new threat… but a χ-blade will be needed… I believe Xehanort is behind this one as well…"

The trio, Sora, Riku, and Kairi were floored. "S-so… you mean it's going to happen? The Keyblade War…?"

Yen Sid closed his eyes slowly and nodded. "It's quite possible that the time might be closer than we'd bargained for… which is why Mickey is getting some more assistance as we speak."

_**Radiant Garden – The Plaza - Within the Hour  
**_

Lea sat on the steps leading to the plaza, a bored expression etched through his features. "Man, there's never anything to do anymore…"

There was a light bounding in the sky in all directions, Lea turn his head skyward, playing with the flaming Keyblade in his right hand. The light crashed down, blinding Lea with a flash of light. After the blinding flash subsided, there was a figure that took the shape of a mouse. Lea recognized the form almost instantly.

"Well, well, What do we have here?"

Mickey stepped toward the newest Keyblade wielder and said, "We might be able to get Ven back. You haven't forgotten him have you?"

Lea's eyes widened and he wore a look of disbelief.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – Chain of Memories

Lea repeated, "Say what now?"

Mickey nodded, "Yep. You remember Ven, don't ya?"

Lea smirked and nodded, "How could I forget. He was my friend… both times…" He turned and looked down, his smirk turned into a frown.

Mickey gave a questioning look, "Both times?"

Lea nodded, "Yeah. When we were younger, and when he was Roxas and I was Axel… in the original Organization."

"Oh, right. Well, in any case we need to go to the Tower to meet with master… and then we'll head for Castle Oblivion after that."

Lea raised a brow inquisitively, "Castle Oblivion? What for? I've already checked that place for the Chamber, but there was no sign of it…"

Mickey shook his head, "Well, there's a reason for that."

Lea folded his arms, "Oh yeah? And what reason is that?"

"…Because only the Master's Keeper can find it."

Lea looked confused and dropped his head, "That makes no sense…" He sighed and took a few steps toward the King.

"We're ready to go then?" Mickey asked.

Lea looked at the tiny king, "Yep, whenever you are."

Mickey nodded and held up the Star Shard again and the two bounded into the sky until they were out of sight. Lea was simply recollecting on the events of his past, the playing with Ventus as Isa watched from afar when they were younger, breaking into Ansem the Wise's Study and being turned into Nobodies, his exploits as number VIII in the Organization, his plan with Siax to become whole again and find the Chamber of Repose to no avail, and finally when Roxas left the Organization and how he gave his life to help Sora in Betwix and Between that led Sora to find Kairi in The World That Never Was. As the two sailed through the Lanes Between, memories kept plaguing Lea. Then the most recent was his encounter with Isa as he saved Sora from becoming Xehanort's final vessel.

"I thought we were brothers…" Lea mumbled to himself just before they landed at the door of Yen Sid's Tower.

Mickey attempted to lead the way, but Lea went on ahead, an excited grin on his face due to him being able to possibly see his friend again, and the hidden concern that he held for his brother turned enemy, Isa.

_**Castle of Dreams – Simultaneously**_

Zell landed with a smooth backwards flip and on his feet. He glanced around to find himself in a forest and just in the distance was a large glowing castle. He took several steps before he was stopped by a blue orb of light.

"Are you one of the Guardians?' The light asked the boy.

Zell folded his arms, "Yes I am. Now, who are you? And why would it matter who I was?"

The light gasped, "Oh, my pardons…" The light shined brighter and turned into a heavy set elderly lady in a faded blue cloak.

Zell covered his eyes from the light until it died down; the woman spoke again, "I'm Cinderella's fairy godmother. I received word from Yen Sid that another guardian was coming."

"Hm, well that works out just fine… wait you said 'another', so where is the other guardian that was supposed to be here?" Zell replied evenly and stole a glance at his surroundings.

The Fairy Godmother looked a bit uneasy, "She went to the castle but never came out. "Cinderella escaped and said that Prince Charming and the Grand Duke were attacked and transformed into dark creatures…"

Zell snapped to attention during the phrase "Dark Creatures", so he asked; "Now you mean to say that this girl, this other Guardian was attacked as well?"

The Fairy nodded and pointed to the castle, "She should be in there still, if she wasn't turned like the Prince and Duke…"

Zell nodded and started in a jog toward the Castle, he grumbled sarcastically, "Just great… I get to play the hero already." Then he broke into a full blown sprint, the χ-blade materialized on his shoulder as he made his approach to the courtyard of the castle.

The Courtyard was enormous and it had a large yard with a squared body of water which was barely knee deep, and had trimmed bushes on all sides. The bushes led to a set of marble stairs that in turn led to a large pair of milky white double doors.

When Zell entered the Courtyard, he noticed that the castle was half black and still changing further, "Time's against me again? This just keeps getting better and better." He huffed and dashed toward the doors of the Castle. He paid no attention to the fact that there were two figures with black residing in the shadows.

Zell burst through the doors of the castle and found silence. He started slowly with his weapon at the ready, eyeing his surroundings, taking note of the large pillars that stretched to the sky painted ceiling. The ceiling had several shining glass chandeliers that sparkled with and unknown light. Zell slowed to look but regained his wits and began to speed his pace up as he entered the Foyer. The foyer was just as empty as the corridor, which was starting to give Zell a chilling feeling. He ignored the feeling and headed up the stairs that stood before him. Just as he made it up the stairs, there was a scream, it sounded like it came from a girl at the top of the stairs.

_**The Tower – Meanwhile**_

Lea opened the doors the Yen Sid's study and approached the desk, "So when do we get to see my friend?"

Yen Sid's eyes were closed and he responded with evenly, "In due time… hopefully soon. I'll give you the course of action, Lea."

The old Master turned to Kairi and the others, "You four should begin training and once I'm finished, Lea and Mickey will join you."

The group nodded and went into the other room. Yen Sid turned to Lea and said, "You're now affiliated with us. So you'll need a befitting outfit. Close your eyes and think of whatever you would like."

Yen Sid held his hand out over Lea and a few different colored lights surged and swirled about Lea's person, after a few moments Lea's outfit was changed.

Lea looked at his hands, there were fingerless gloves. He glanced down at the pants; there were dark brown knee length shorts and red chucks with a white tongue and black laces. He looked at his abdomen; he wore a long sleeved white shirt, plaid yellow scarf, and orange vest. It was a modified version of the outfit he wore when he met Ventus the first time many years ago. The shorts had four zippers on each side and on his shoes was the Roman numeral for eight near the ankle. His vest also bore a Roman numeral eight on the left side.

Lea couldn't help but smile, "Well, I still have my sense of style."

Yen Sid cleared his throat, '"Now Lea, we're waiting for Master Aqua. She's the only one who can get to the chamber where Ventus sleeps... And Since Ventus's heart rests within Sora, it's believed he was reborn as Roxas… if this theory holds true, then he should remember you as Axel and himself as Roxas…"

Lea's smile grew, "Well what are we waiting for? Where's this 'Master Aqua' anyways?"

Yen Sid frowned, "She was last seen in Radiant Garden before Xehanort began his uprising anew… I've sent one of our newer ranks to search for someone who fits her description, but we've no results just yet."

Lea's smile faded to a frown and he sighed, "…There's always a catch to my good fortune isn't there?"

_**Castle of Dreams**_

In the Ballroom, Aqua was pinned to the wall by her arms and legs. Her consciousness returned in just enough time to find another creature of darkness in her face, this one taking the form of a miniature Darkside Heartless, navy blue and black with large muscles and a giant heart shaped hole within its abdomen, and several subordinates pin her limbs to the wall to avoid conflict.

Her clothing was ripped from her previous bout; her shirt seemed to be the primary target as that's where the heart is generally located. The shirt was torn, but still held together enough to hide the fine details of a bra that looked to be silk and blue and had tiny star patterns on it. She looked down and became a bit uneasy.

"Oh, boy… This doesn't look good." She sighed and struggled to free her arms to no avail, and then She let out a scream and the feeling of a metallic claw slowly treaded itself across her stomach.

The claw reached the base of her bellybutton before it fell to the ground. Aqua's eyes had tears ready to pour out, for various reasons, but she managed to blink them away. When her vision cleared, she spotted a red haired male plunging his χ-blade through the Darkside-styled Monster that had her pinned.

Her indigo blue eyes widened for a brief moment, "V-Ven? But I thought… No, it's not Ven…"

Aqua slid down the wall and landed on her butt. She grunted and watched the scene before her resume. Zell sliced a monster in two, jumped over one's head using a back flip and kicked it into another then gave a horizontal slash to them both. He rotated the attack a complete 360 degrees and destroyed the other two that charged behind him. All five of the monsters burst into dark smoke and disappeared, strange crystal spheres faded into the roof of the Ballroom and dispersed with a loud crackling noise.

Zell looked up as the crystal disappeared, then did a win pose. He swung the χ-blade in an X followed by twirling it twice to the left side of his body, to his waist, then 'sheathed' the weapon and caused it to dematerialize.

Zell kept his back to the blue haired Master, "Are you okay?" He held his palm to her and cast a level 4 cure, Curaja and all of her injuries were healed instantly, and her clothing repaired itself as well.

Aqua stood with ease and gawked at Zell's head, "I'm better now. Thanks for helping me out. I thought I was a goner…"

Zell put his hands in his pockets and shook his head, "It's what I came here for." He turned to face Aqua and asked, "Are you Aqua?"

Aqua partially expected to see Terra, her older brother type figure; however, this guy was similar to Terra in a few ways. He had darkness in his heart, but it was completely under control, and he had similar eyes, save for the color. Terra's eyes were a vibrant blue; his were fiery crimson, as was his hair. Aqua found herself scouring the features of the boy. She caught herself before he said anything.

"Yes. I'm Aqua. Who are you?"

"I'm Zell." Zell stated with an emotionless tone and turned his back again.

"You came in the nick of time… But how did you find me?" Aqua asked and stepped beside Zell.

"I was sent by Master Yen Sid to help you out. Did you get the princess to safety?"

Aqua nodded slowly, "Yes I did. She managed to stay in hiding, right?"

Zell nodded, "So it seems." His reply was cold, he turned his head to scan the area as he added, "This world has begun to succumb to the darkness… We need to get back to the Tower and report our findings to the Master."

Aqua looked confused, "The Master? You mean to Yen Sid?"

Zell nodded and began to walk. Aqua kept in step with him, and she placed her hands behind her back as she did.

The two teens reached the entrance of the Ballroom before it was completely covered in blackness. Both Masters materialized their weapons and stood side to side. Two figures, both male and with a strange black film covering their persons had seeped out from the ground. More dark energy flowed from the two males, and it was absorbed in to their bodies. One had silver skin and the other had gold skin. The Gold Prisoner had red chains on its wrists and ankles, the Silver Prisoner had blue chains on its wrists and ankles. The Gold Prisoner materialized a large rounded hammer, and the Silver Prisoner had materialized a large great sword. Both monsters hovered lightly above the ground before landing with a heavy, earthshaking thud.

Zell looked into the helmet of the silver prisoner, "These two must be the duke and prince, then…"

Aqua's eyes grew wide, "They had this much darkness inside them!?"

Zell shook his head, "No, but thanks to the decaying condition of this world, that's what's become of them. I hope you're ready."

Aqua nodded, her resolve returning to her as she constantly recollected on the promise to Ventus. The promise echoed in her mind and her blue Wayfinder Charm hung from her pocket. She took it and placed it on her neck.

The two prisoners jumped away from one another, silver on Zell's side and gold on Aqua's side.

Zell turned his head slightly and asked, "Have you fought something this large before?"

Aqua replied with a bit of shakiness in her tone, "Yeah..."

Zell smirked and looked to the Silver Prisoner. Aqua's face bore a serious expression, the same one that she'd wore when she'd fought Xehanort in Terra's body, as she now glared at the Gold Prisoner. Zell took one step before he dashed at the Silver Prisoner, Aqua broke into a run at the Gold Prisoner and the battle began.

The two prisoners fought like mirrors of each other, each attack took a second to charge before being relentlessly thrown at their targets. The Silver Prisoner reared his weapon over his head and brought it down, releasing a stream of azure fire and a shockwave of blue flames as it hit the ground. The dual attack was something partially expected, as Zell managed to avoid the flames via a jumping rotation. The Gold Prisoner had mimicked the attack, except chunks of rock were belted towards the young female Master. Aqua elegantly cart wheeled past a coming arc of earth, and then she jumped over a rock wall and countered, in the air, with a series of three stage three blizzard spells, a technique known as Triple Blizzaga.

The three large shards of ice pierced the Gold Prisoner, but it didn't stagger, it just growled and began to spin like a top, each rotation throwing a boulder towards Aqua as it tried to rush her. Aqua leapt backwards and the Gold Prisoner's hammer missed her, just by a few inches, and the creature weaved past her. She'd turned around and noticed the spinning monster headed her way once more, and she'd repeated the process.

Zell turned his body to the side, narrowly dodging a mighty swing from the Silver Prisoner's sword. The wave of azure flames whizzed past and Zell retaliated with a spinning slash combined with a stage four fire spell, Firaja, in a tornado at the creature. The monster didn't flinch but instead he reared his blade back and brought it down fast enough to tear space to pieces.

Zell flipped out of the way of the large silver blade and dashed at the monster. He slashed at it several times before it sunk into the ground and reappeared behind him. It hovered high in the air before in crashed its blade into the ground, which released a large shockwave.

Zell did a jumping side corkscrew several feet in the air to avoid the wall of the shockwave. Upon landing, he retaliated with another set of fire spells, this time stage three, Firaga. Four large fireballs impacted the silver giant, but again, no stagger. It let out a screeching roar and a large wave blasted him toward a wall.

Aqua jumped in the air, and did an elegant spin, as though she'd come shooting out of a pool of water, and Air Dashed toward her foe. She began to prepare a spell, but before the spell could be finished, she was grabbed and tossed towards a wall.

Aqua and Zell both put fine dents in the wall behind them; Aqua seemed more out of breath than Zell. She was on her knees while he was in a bit of a slouched position. Zell pushed himself off of his knee and cast stage three cure, Curaga, on himself and Aqua. She stood and brushed her knees off.

Zell took a deep breath, "Aqua, are you familiar with the Mega-Flare spell?"

Aqua looked at the boy, "Yes, why?"

"We've been wasting too much time… I hope they don't have much left, but judging by their movement…"

Zell stopped to think for a split second, and the two Prisoners rushed them. Aqua noticed and defended with her Barrier, and Zell with the basic defensive posture, but both were sent into the wall again, and were pelted with a series of vertical attacks that pummeled them further in.

The two prisoners retreated a bit and hovered back to back; they started spinning like a pair of tops and spun vertically toward the two.

Zell stated the command calmly, "We've got no time now… Cast Mega-Flare right after I use the Zantetsuken technique. It's our last shot, don't fail."

Aqua fell out of the crater shaped like her body and replied, very painfully, "Alright."

Zell managed a run toward the two prisoners that were now like a buzz saw to wood. He brought his weapon above his head then he brought it down to his waist on his left, pink petals began to fall to the ground in his wake. Aqua struggled to stand again but managed. She hovered a bit above the ground and she shot a very large fireball from her Keyblade. The force of the fireball pushed her on her back.

There was a slashing noise immediately followed by an explosion. The area was covered in white for a brief moment, and then there was nothing but the castle's room and the two of them standing there.

Zell stopped, relaxed his posture a bit and his χ-blade disappeared. He and Aqua looked up to see a clock hitting Midnight then it turned into a Keyhole. Zell closed his eyes and slowly turned his weapon clockwise until it was high above his head. He pointed the blade at the keyhole and a translucent light shot into the keyhole, and the area around the keyhole shattered into the shape of a crescent moon.

"Looks like that'll do the trick… for now." Zell stared at the keyhole and it shined brightly, and restored the Castle to its pearly white shine.

_**The Tower – A Few Minutes Later**_

Lea stood near the door to the study and leaned on the wall, tapping his foot impatiently, "You know, I'm actually starting to worry about the poor guy, and this 'Master Aqua'."

Everyone gave concerned looks to the elder Master and he brushed them all off, "You need not worry Lea. The two of them are at the door right now."

No sooner had he said that, then the two aforementioned teens walked into the door. Aqua's checks were red, and she kept her eyes fixated on the ground. There was a long pause and silence before Zell walked in, blank face and all. The ones who were worried, mainly Mickey, Sora, and Kairi let out deep breaths of relief. Riku froze for a minute while he sifted through his memory to see why the blue haired female looked so familiar. After a moment, Kairi and Sora did the same. Mickey looked happy to see his old friend, and she seemed glad to see him as well. Aqua couldn't help but hug the mouse for a brief moment before putting him back on his feet.

Yen Sid did not look at the three teens, he simply asked, "Is there something wrong Sora? Riku? Kairi?"

The three in question replied at the same time, "Nothing… It's just that… She looks very familiar…" Riku had his head down and his hands hanging off of his pockets, Sora gripped his chin lightly and gazed skyward with his head tilted slightly, and Kairi poked her temples with her index fingers.

Aqua turned to the three teens and smiled, "Hey, you two mind telling me your names?" She directed the statement at Sora and Riku, just like the first time she'd met them at Destiny Islands.

Sora thumbed himself and replied, "I'm Sora!"

Aqua giggled and turned to Riku, "What about you?"

Riku looked her in the eyes and replied plainly, "Riku." He'd replied the exact same way he did when they met Aqua the first time.

Aqua closed her eyes for a brief moment, _"I can feel the same light as the first time, but they all can use the Keyblade… Hopefully Xehanort won't be able to drive them apart like he managed to do with my friends, but still… I wonder when they'll catch on…"_

Aqua looked at Sora, "Sora, do you like Riku?"

Sora nodded and bumped his fist to his chest, "Of course I like him," Riku and Sora looked at each other and Sora said, "He's my best friend!" Sora now had a grin on his face.

Aqua looked at Sora, "So, have you been keeping Riku safe?"

Sora smiled again, "Of course, but why would you…?"

Then it dawned on the two boys, "You're that pretty girl that visited us twelve years ago!" Sora was the one who called Aqua pretty, Riku simply said 'that girl'.

Aqua giggled, "So, you two thought I was pretty?"

Riku and Sora turned away, Riku rubbing the back of his head and Sora rubbed his nose and looked in the opposite direction.

Kairi approached Aqua and spoke first, "Thank you for the magic spell, Aqua… It really did keep me safe when I was in trouble."

Aqua smiled back at Kairi, "Did it bring you to someone who'd protect you?"

Kairi nodded, "Yes. It brought me to two people."

"See? I told you." Aqua tilted her head just a little and looked at Riku and Sora again.

The two boys looked back at Aqua and she said, "You three have grown up so much…"

Sora smirked and put his hands behind his head, "Well what did you expect? It's been twelve years since we saw you, remember?"

Lea stepped to the desk and cleared his throat, "Yes, well, I'm not one to ruin little moments like this, but we've got more pressing matters to worry about, right Master?" Lea looked to Yen Sid and he nodded.

"Yes, Lea's correct. We've got to stop the worlds from falling to the darkness, and we need to wake Ventus as well."

Everyone lined up shoulder to shoulder for the assignment and stood at attention, including Lea.

Yen Sid stood and started again, "Aqua, you'll be leading Sora, Kairi, and Lea to Castle Oblivion to retrieve Ventus. Riku, you'll be with Kanani, and Mickey, for I have a special assignment for you. Zell, you'll be going to retrieve our last ally and rescue the second princess of heart…"

The group nodded and sectioned off, Aqua, Lea, Sora and Kairi on one side; Mickey, Riku and Kanani in the middle and Zell off to the side, leaning on the wall with his arms folded and head down. There was a smirk on his face.

"I know who our final ally is. I'll get to it right away." Zell stated and departed first, shortly after he left, a streak of light zoomed off in the window.

Yen Sid nodded, he felt the fading of the next Princess's world and sighed then turned to Sora's group, "Aqua, you're to guide them to the Chamber where you put Ventus to rest. Sora, you have Ventus' heart and need to return the pieces that made a home within you. Lea, you'll be there to assist them in getting their destination and help Ventus wake up. Kairi, should Sora turn again, you'll be the one needed t being him back just as you did before."

The group nodded as a unit turned to leave. Yen Sid turned to face the center group, Riku's Team.

"You, Riku, having been granted to power to wake the worlds from slumber, will need to find the Six Relic Princesses."


End file.
